Maid of Heart and Sole pairing with Uplifters

On 24th February 2019 Aleli, Eden, Milkha and Rosie will be running a 50 km race in Hong Kong for the benefit of Uplifters. Click here to participate.

Not only they will raise funds for Uplifters but they will also advertise the online education platform while running, raise awareness to fellow domestic workers about what Uplifters provides.

Uplifters will be there to support them during the race and we are so honoured, proud and excited that such inspiring women chose our cause to run the Victoria 162-H50 this year!

Thank you ladies!

Who are Maid of Heart and Sole?

They are a racing team composed of two Indonesian and two Filipino runners:

Aleli Pena (also called Thana by her friends), is a 40 year old filipino mother of 2 children (16 year old daughter and 4 year old son). She has been working in Hong Kong for 14 years as a domestic workers. Aleli started hiking with the MeetUp group (Hong Kong Meet Up). She later decided to try the 100 km Oxfam trailwalker under their sponsorship. That’s when she started to run and discovered she had a passion for trail running. She trained every Sunday. Her employers are flexible and she does not take care of children anymore so she can also run early in the morning.

Aleli is the team leader of Team 0262 ‘Maid of Heart and Sole’ which consist of four domestic helpers who run with her and participate to help raise funds for Oxfam. They want to represent the Domestic Workers community in Hong Kong and promote their ability, determination and enthusiasm to excel.

Rosie Rusinah, is a 35 years old Indonesian from Java. She has been in HK for 13 years. She started to run in 2010. Her Chinese employer was very sporty and she was running regularly. Looking at her employer influenced her to be more fit and healthy. She also realised that Hong Kong had a lot to offer and was also attracted by the beautiful sights while hiking. To have flexible employers is very important to pursue this quest in her opinion.

“I want to promote Uplifters as I always support good actions for domestic helpers.”

Eden Marciano is 39 years old and is from the Philippines. She is a single mother of an almost 5 years old boy. She has been working in Hong Kong for 15 years. Her friend introduced her to running in 2011. They usually run at night after her work is done.

“I want to run for the benefit of Uplifters to raise funds and support its amazing platform for empowerment of migrants domestic workers. My tips to fellow domestic workers: just notice the small pleasures in life and appreciate them. SMILE and do regular exercise. It’s the best way to improve our mood and it helps us both physically and mentally.”

Milkhatus Sholikah is Indonesian, 43 years old and a single mother. When her son was 9, she decided to migrate to Hong Kong as a domestic worker in order to support him financially. She started to run in August 2018 after a friend asked her if she wanted to join her for the Oxfam Trailwalker. She’d never run before and despite her lack of experience, she began training with them. She has also paddled for the last 3 years for 2 different dragon boat teams. She is an Uplifters alumni student.

“The reason why I decided to run for Uplifters is because as an alumni student I want to help and give back to the community. Besides I hope my activities could inspire other Uplifters students as well.”

They finished the Oxfam trailwalker 100 km in 24 hours and 55 minutes. They were ranked 10th of all female teams and 226th of all teams. Their official Oxfam fundraising page is always in need to support good actions for domestic workers.

Why fundraise for Uplifters?

Aleli : “I can do something by running and promoting sports as well as raise awareness on health and with Uplifters, it is a great opportunity to learn, improve and prepare for the future for all domestic workers. We want to promote the good actions that are helping helpers.

We want to encourage domestic helpers to pursue what they are passionate about, it can be through sports, through studies and why not both! Healthy minds in healthy bodies!

I think Uplifters is an amazing idea and gives another purpose for what to do on a very hot or rainy day. Helpers need to do something meaningful on their day off and learning about financial literacy, cooking or any other skill is important. I believe that as soon as you open their eyes, they would want to learn more.”

The 24th February race: Victoria 162 2019 – H50

On 24th February, Aleli, Milha, Eden and Rosie will be running 50 km for the race Victoria 162 (H50) departing from Quarry Bay at 8am and finishing at Kennedy Town.